By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OXFORD, Miss. – Roughly 9½ months of social media sniping, LSU players sued, and a national media storyline of the clean-as whistle-good guys vs. the scummy rules breaking villains has come down to this.
Finally, it’s No. 7 LSU (2-0) at No. 8 (2-0) Ole Miss, the SEC football opener for both teams here Saturday, live on ABC-TV.
The 6:30 kickoff p.m. can’t come soon enough.
Since Lane Kiffin resigned as Ole Miss head coach last Nov. 30 prior to the Rebels appearing in the College Football Playoffs, to fill the LSU vacancy, the level of venom quickly reached enormous proportions.
It’s never waned, even this game week when there’s been fresh drama served daily.
In Monday’s media conferences, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding called the Rebels’ fan base to create “a loud respectful atmosphere” while Kiffin said “there’s just going to be so much hatred on me that the pressure is on them (Ole Miss).”
On Tuesday outside the LSU practice facility, LSU starting and former Ole Miss linebacker Princewell Umanmielen was served with court papers in a lawsuit filed by Ole Miss against him and LSU offensive lineman Devin Harper (another Ole Miss transfer) for breach of contract. Ole Miss is seeking $550,000 from Umanmielen and $400,000 from Harper, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.
On Wednesday afternoon after LSU starting quarterback Sam Leavitt didn’t practice (possibly back spasms). Kiffin listed Leavitt on the SEC’s mid-week injury report as doubtful for Saturday’s game.
Later Wednesday, a mix of comedians from Memphis and Mississippi roasted Kiffin at his historic Lyric Theatre in Oxford Square. A likeness of Kiffin’s face adorned the urinal cakes in the men’s bathroom.
Leavitt reappeared Thursday morning and took part in practice, causing the betting line to increase from LSU as a 2½-point favorite to 3 points.
Thursday night at his weekly radio show in Baton Rouge before a packed house at Court and Table, Kiffin didn’t mention Leavitt’s status and wasn’t asked about him by show host Chris Blair or any audience member.
And today, with extra heavy security, Kiffin and the Tigers travel and settle into their team hotel, likely either in Memphis or Tupelo.
LSU will get down to the business of tonight’s team position meetings and a walkthrough for Saturday’s historical game, the first matchup since 1962 in which both teams are ranked in the top 10.
“It’s an unusual situation,” said Kiffin, who was 55-19 in six seasons at Ole Miss. “One team you built and one team that you’re building.
“You’re going to play a team that has the second longest win streak in the country, a team with phenomenal players. You’re talking about the best quarterback (Trinidad Chambliss), running back (Kewan Lacy) and kicker (Lucas Carnero) in the country coming back. We’re going to have to play really well in all areas.”
When Kiffin left for LSU, he swiped seven Ole Miss offensive and two defensive assistants/analysts and the Rebels’ general manager and plucked four Ole Miss players from the transfer portal.
Golding, Kiffin’s defensive coordinator last season who was quickly promoted to head coach when Kiffin left, countered by hiring LSU’s general manager under fired head coach Brian Kelly as well as Tigers’ running backs coach Frank Wilson. The Rebels got two LSU players from the transfer portal.
“Some of the (LSU) staff was here last year, so here are some things that we’ve had to change,” said Lacy, who had a slower start this season because of some bumps and bruises. “Everything can’t be the same. We can’t go with the same game plan as last year.”
That could be said for LSU’s Weis Jr., who matched his offensive playcalling for the Rebels against Golding’s schemes in practice in the past three seasons they worked together.
But LSU linebacker Whit Weeks said it’s difficult for defenders attempting to decipher the playcalling of Weis Jr.
“He’ll get in the same exact formations and run so much different stuff, so you can never really get a tail on him,” Weeks said. “He showed us this (a formation) on Tuesday (in preseason camp). Then on Wednesday, I see the same formation. I’m thinking I know what they’re going to run, and then it’s something totally different. He just always keeps you on your toes.”
GO FIGURE
11: Straight games with at least one TD by Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy. It’s the third longest active streak in the FBS.
11: National stat categories which the Tigers are ranked in the top five.
14: Opposing offensive plays in LSU territory.
14.8: LSU opponents’ third-down conversion percentage (4 for 27).
25: Scoreless drives in 28 LSU opponents’ possessions.
1,172: Yards total offense by LSU, most in his first two games in school history.
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com